Lorna Templeton

Independent Research Consultant
Bristol, England

Background

I completed a degree in Sociology (1993) and then a Masters in Social Research (1994), undertaking a 3 month placement at the Addiction Research Foundation in Toronto, Canada during my studies. Following 2 years at the National Addiction Centre in London I moved to Bristol and started work in 1997 at the Joint NHS/Bath University Mental Health Research & Development Unit. I have been a core member of the Alcohol, Drugs and the Family Research Group UK since that time and have been involved in several research and development projects relating to the experiences of family members and the 5-Step Method. I have developed a special interest in this area of work, and have completed many studies including also in the area of how children can be affected by, but also develop resilience to, parental substance misuse. In June 2010 I became self-employed and have continued to work in this area. A major project I am currently involved with, at the University of Bath, is exploring how families and individuals are affected by the alcohol- or drug-related death of a loved one. I am a Trustee of Adfam (since 2009), which is the UK Umbrella Organisation for families affected by drug and alcohol problems, and am also a member of Alcohol Research UK’s Grants Advisory Panel.

International work

My first experience of international work in this area was to support the ADF Group in analysing the qualitative dataset to come from the Living with Alcohol Program in the Northern Territory, Australia. Subsequently I became involved with setting up and developing ENCARE (www.encare.info), an EU-wide network concerned with developing resources to assist professionals across the EU to improve the help they offer to children in families affected by substance misuse.
Currently, I am working very closely with colleagues in Northern Ireland (from the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust, ASCERT and Barnardos) to introduce a version of the 5-Step Method (which we call Steps to Cope) to support young people affected by parental substance misuse and/or parental mental health problems. Our partnership is just about to start (in January 2014) a major project with funding from the Big Lottery to continue this exciting programme of work.

Recent publications include

• Templeton L. Embracing Children and Families in Substance-Misuse Treatment. In Mistral W (Ed). Substance Misuse: Emerging Perspectives, Chapter 6, pp 98-117. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell
• Templeton L (2011). Working with families of adolescents who misuse alcohol. In Saunders J & Rey J (2011, Eds). Young People and Alcohol: Impact, Policy, Prevention, Treatment. Chapter 14: 247-257.
• Templeton L (2014).  Supporting families living with parental substance misuse: the M-PACT (Moving Parents and Children Together) Programme.  Child & Family Social Work, 19 (1), 76-88.
• Templeton L (2012). Dilemmas of Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren because of Parental Substance Misuse. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 19(1): 11-18.
• Wall S & Templeton L (2011). The Use of Drawings to Explore Young People’s Views of a Service for those Affected by Parental Alcohol Misuse. Journal of Substance Use 16(6): 439-451.
• Templeton L, Novak C & Wall S (2011). Helping children and young people who live with parental substance misuse. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy 18(3): 172-178.
• Templeton L (2010). Meeting the needs of children with the 5-Step Method. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy 17 (S1): 113-128.
• Templeton L, Velleman R & Russell C (2010). Psychological Interventions with Families of Alcohol Misusers: A Systematic Review. Addiction Research & Theory 18(6): 616-648.

In addition Lorna has authored/co-authored a range of other publications, some examples are:

• Silent Voices – Supporting children and young people affected by parental alcohol misuse: a comprehensive literature review. With Jon Adamson and CRC. Commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.
  www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_619 (full report)
  www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_620 (briefing)
• Action on Addiction M-PACT (Moving Parents and Children Together) Programme
  www.actiononaddiction.org.uk/Family-Support/M-Pact-Programme.aspx
• Adult family members and carers of dependent drug users: prevalence, social cost, resource savings and treatment responses (2009). Commissioned by the UK Drugs Policy Commission.
  www.ukdpc.org.uk/publication/adult-family-members-carers
• The Forgotten Carers: Support for adult family members affected by a relative’s drug problems (2012). Commissioned by the UK Drugs Policy Commission.
  www.ukdpc.org.uk/publication/the-forgotten-carers (briefing) – this link gives details of the 3 components of this study.
• Supporting Significant Others affected by Substance Misuse: a National Implementation Plan for the Isle of Man (2006)
  http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/socialcare/services/iomimplementationplan090707.pdf
• “Looking Beyond Risk”. Parental Substance Misuse: Scoping Study (2006) – Commissioned by the Scottish Executive
  www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/135124/0033445.pdf